The Queen's Irony

9

Hera had left to Russia again. She walked through the crowds deep in thought.

That's what she gets for finally pressing the little slut.

Hera had been humiliated. She had given the little vex what she rightfully deserved. Who was she to push her around? And so Hera returned the favor. She wasn't about it to take such disrespect from a lowly mortal.

Then word reached Zeus.

Everything went downhill from there.

Hera held her sweater tighter, its hoodie covering her face. It was January 2nd, 2001. It was -3°C (Or 26°F) and she had overestimated how much she could withstand the cold.

She rubbed her nose on her sleeve and sniffed, a new stream of ichor lined the part where she had wiped it. She never realized how much her family hated her until yesterday when Zeus beat her in front of the council. They didn't interfere. They simply stared on. She wasn't sure whether it was out of shock or satisfaction but it hurt all the same.

Eventually, her stroll led her to the icy waters Russia had to offer. She sat at the shoreline and looked at her reflection. She didn't recognize herself. Her left eye was black and blue; she looked like she had fallen down a hill of trees due to the marks left on her face, and her lip was swollen and bloody. She wasn't something you'd imagine the queen of the gods to look like.

Sometimes she was just too prideful.

"I hate New Years," she said.

She and Adiya had been having another morning stroll. They were usually seen around each other, and their wrangles had become so rare it was hard to believe that they could just barely tolerate the other's presence.

They sauntered throughout the garden, talking about mortal politics. 

Hera never understood why the president of the United States didn't just turn its republic into a monarchy, and Adiya had been explaining why.

"You see, there was a time, when the nation had been first established, that the idea was suggested but George Washington rejected it. Besides, if the US were to do that we'd have to dismantle the Constitution. If we do this then the United States ceases to exist by definition."

Hera thought about it. It was sort of like the Greek Pantheon. She remembered once that Zeus had considered to make the polytheistic pantheon into a monotheistic one. Many of the gods had begun to fade, including Helios and Selene, the titans of the sun and moon. They had handed the reigns over to Apollo and Artemis before they disappeared. When Athena began to fade Zeus turned back on his decision and stopped any further damage to the pantheon. If the US did the same, discarding its Congress, the US would fall. After all, it was a powerful country with equally powerful influence.

Hera nodded understanding,"Why can't anyone be president then if monarchy isn't involved?"

"You have to be at least 35 years of age and a legal citizen. Besides, most of the politicians elected have usually been well educated and rich."

Hera couldn't agree. She looked back remembering the different presidents that had taken office. Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, and Harry Truman we're worth less than $1 million dollars, making them the poorest presidents to grace the United States. George Washington didn't go to college, neither did Abraham Lincoln, or Harry Truman. She remembered the recent US election. George Bush had won, he was okay? According to Athena, he wasn't a straight A student. More like a C student. She didn't know what that meant, but Athena found it distasteful so it probably wasn't too good. Then again, she found half everything in the 21st century distasteful so it probably didn't mean anything. But, what about women? She'd heard of at least eight women who had tried to run, one of them being a child of Zeus, but lost. Maybe bad luck? She was so caught up in her thoughts she forgot to make the usual turn and led Adiya to a part of the garden she had never allowed her to see.